Gift Ideas For The Tech Lover In Your Life

Here in Minneapolis the snow and the temperature are falling and that means one thing; winter is here. With the arrival of the season also comes holiday shopping. If you have someone on your list that always seems to be in the know with the latest and greatest tech gadgets, it can be hard to find gifts that are sure to make their jaw drop, so here’s a guide with some great options to help you out.

UNDER $25

Google Cardboard $15

Virtual reality is seeing updates left and right, but for those just starting to garner an interest, Google Cardboard is the hilariously fun (and inexpensive!) way to get started in the immersive experience of VR.

Tile Mate $25

Losing your phone, wallet, keys and other personal items has never been less stressful. The Tile Mate attaches to your items and when you can’t find them, simply use the accompanying app to alert the tile to play loud noises until you have the item back with you.

LOOP World Adapter Plug $18.95

If you have a life full of travel like I do, you know that charging your devices can get tricky if you’re out of the country.  The LOOP World Adapter Plug is a universal AC socket that can charge up to 3 devices at a time. Powering up on the go has never been so easy.

UNDER $50

Mobile.Net’s @udio Ultra Earbuds $40

Power, performance, precision: in four bold colors. Offering earth­shaking bass and sweeping treble, the @udio Ultra prove big things come in small packages. Plus, hands-free call answering and microphone support make multitasking a snap.

Amazon Echo Dot (2nd generation) $39.99

The smart home revolution is upon us, and this small device packs a punch with the full capabilities of Amazon’s Echo, just in a smaller package and a basic speaker, rather than the Echo’s dedicated one.

Roku Streaming Stick $49.99

Stream almost anything from this device that looks like a USB drive.  With this plugged into your TV’s USB port you can access great content from anywhere, and control your TV with your mobile device with the Roku app.

UNDER $100

Amazon Fire TV $89.99

Go a step up from the Roku and pick up the Amazon Fire TV streaming device. With universal search results, games, Alexa enabled voice control and 4K enables picture, this is the new wave of entertainment technology.

AirHogs Ultimate Millennium Falcon Quad Drone $99.99

For the Star Wars fan in your life check out this iconic drone that has no FAA registration requirements. Control the drone from up to 250 feet away.

Samsung Gear VR $99.99, Google Daydream View $79.00

With both of these VR headsets you can experience the fun of Google Cardboard in a comfortable and wearable option. Unfortunately, Daydream View is currently only available for customers with Google’s Pixel and Pixel XL phones, and Gear VR is only for Samsung Galaxy flagship phones. However, with that being said, if your techie has a compatible phone, this gift is really a head turner.

Mobile.Net’s @udio Mix Headphones $50

Featuring 20-20000 Hz of frequency response, the @udio Mix is all about supercharged sound. Not to mention the smooth surfaces and streamlined design, letting you look as good as you feel.

$150+

Nixon Mission Smartwatch $400

Defined as the first action sports smart watch Nixon’s Mission watch is attractive, but functional; with it’s capabilities seemingly unlimited. Calibrated for surf and snow, and powered by Android, this watch is more durable than it looks, and is water resistant up to 10 ATM, which is the highest rating of any smartwatch.  Perfect for the person that craves adventure and innovation.

Vantage Robotics Snap Drone $1295

For those that have already embraced drone technology, this small but powerful drone is revolutionizing the way that videos are made. This tiny, portable and smart drone captures 4K video as it flies for 20 minutes, at speeds up to 30 mph. Snap can follow you via your smartphone’s GPS, and orbit the area you’re in and boomerang back to you for the most stunning aerial videos you can imagine.

Ember Mug $149.95

There is nothing worse for anyone than having a hot drink that you forget about, or leave at your desk during a meeting only to come back to a cold drink when you finally remember it. The Ember Mug changes all of this, with their mug that maintains the temperature of your drinks for up to two hours on the go. This smart mug can be controlled by the base that changes your set temperature, or the Ember app that allows you to change the temperature remotely, create presets and get notifications. The sleek design makes this mug attractive even without the added benefit of continually warm coffee.

Technology moves fast, but your gifts can be just as quick to please. Share any other gift ideas in the comments section below. Happy Holidays!

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Useful Insights about How People View Websites and Mobile

Do you know what the first thing a user is drawn to on any given website? How about what the first thing a user will click on or skip over? Who doesn’t love a good eye-tracking study? With the ability to take a lot of guesswork out of conversion rate optimization, eye-tracking software and heat maps reveal startling insights into increasing conversions (and avoiding sales killers) that can benefit every business.

It may surprise you, but most people read websites and web content in a very specific pattern. Understanding this pattern may help you easily improve the usability and popularity of your website.

So, let’s go over 15 important eye-tracking studies that will give you a sneak peek into common browsing patterns and elements of human behavior that all marketers need to know.

Let’s take a look!

1. Text attracts more attention than pictures.

2. People start viewing your website from the top left corner.

3. Readers ignore banners.

4. Fancy fonts are ignored.

5. People only scan the lower parts of your website.

6. Short paragraphs work better than long ones.

7. Ads, that are placed on the top or left part of your website, get the most views.

8. Ads, that are placed inside or below an awesome piece of content, get more views.

9. Big pictures attract more attention than small ones.

10. Also headlines draw attention.

11. Visitors spend more time looking at menus and buttons than other parts of your website.

12. Lists are better at keeping your reader focused than large paragraphs.

13. Some people even completely ignore large chunks of text.

14. White space is good!

15. Menu works best when placed in the top part of your website. 

5 Facts on How People View Mobile Web:

1. The reader’s attention is focused more on the top left corner of a screen.

2. Keep your content short & simple. Reading long paragraphs needs concentration, which is something that mobile users don’t have.

3. Users pay most attention on the top 2/3 of the screen.

4. Mobile phone users absorb visuals more than text or content. (But if an image doesn’t supplement your content, you can do away with it).

5. Short, but hard-hitting headlines draw more attention. Make your headlines count.

Read more about how to make user-friendly mobile website here.

There you go. Some points from this list are pretty basic and elementary (perhaps obvious), but a good reminder never hurts. So the next time when you’re writing an awesome piece of content, or building your new website, keep these points in mind.

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Top Tech New Stories You Missed Last Week

Happy Cyber Monday to you all, undoubtedly the most sanctified and unanimously-loved day of them all. It was one of the busiest week of digital news, but there’s plenty a discerning reader like you needs to keep abreast of.

Apple decided to do Black Friday

Last year it didn’t, this year it did. The mysterious Black Friday landing page carried no clues as to what might be on offer, except of course that big picture of an Apple Watch.

Google Maps tells you if a store is busy

Google Maps is providing real-time information about how busy a store is. ‘Popular Times’ was added to Search and Maps in 2015, but is now bolstered by this real-time data. The service aggregates anonymized data coming from Android phones that have opted to share location data. So, now you can know before you go.

Amazon Prime might air sports

Amazon is reportedly in talks with the NBA and NFL, potentially to air sports as part of its $99 Prime subscription. Such a move would obviously signal more danger for traditional cable networks.

Facebook’s may create a censorship tool for Chinese market

The New York Times reports that Facebook is building a censorship tool, which will allow a third-party to suppress certain posts in the News Feed. The effort is part of Facebook’s attempts to crack China, and has raised eyebrows in the US, given the networks failure to stamp down on fake news. Of course, as many in the press point out, it’s a lot easier to build a censorship tool than it is to build a lie-detector algorithm.

Amazon cracks down on ‘incentivized’ reviews

From early October this year, Amazon has made good progress cracking down on ‘incentivized’, less trustworthy reviews (for which reviewers receive free or discounted items). Analysis by ReviewMeta of 65m reviews for 32,000 products has shown these reviews, which have an average rating 0.38 higher than genuine reviews, are being removed. When Amazon announced the ban on these reviews earlier this year, it suggested retroactive action would only be taken in exceptional cases, but this new data shows older reviews are being impacted. Average rating for all reviews has fallen since the crackdown.

IBM launches Watson IoT Consulting Solution

IBM Watson (the company’s artificial intelligence infrastructure) continues to expand its impressive applications, launching a global consulting practice for the Internet of things (IoT). This will allow customers such as Ricoh to integrate Watson into IoT services.

A press release stated: ‘The practice will feature 1,500 experts across IBM Watson IoT headquarters…By integrating IBM Watson IoT Platform APIs and technologies, including cognitive, analytics, mobile, security and cloud capabilities, together with development and implementation consulting and ongoing support, clients can fully use the IoT without the risk and complexity of dealing with multiple vendors.’ 

Facebook follows Google & Apple, commits to bigger London HQ

Facebook has committed to employing a further 500 people at its London headquarters in Rathbone Square, increasing the workforce there by 50%. The news comes after Google has committed to a new building at Kings Cross, and Apple is in the process of creating a Battersea headquarters. Nicola Mendelson, Facebook’s European boss, said: “The UK remains one of the best places to be a tech company.”

Ctrip.com buys Skyscanner

Ctrip.com, China’s biggest online travel company, has agreed a deal to buy Skyscanner for $1.4bn. The acquisition of the Scottish-based company, which was founded by three Manchester University graduates, comes after it was valued at more than £1bn after a round of funding in January 2016. The Guardian commented that the news comes just days after ‘the chancellor, Philip Hammond, promised to stem the flow of British firms being sold to foreign investors before reaching their full potential’.

So, there you have it! Enjoy the rest of your week.

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Best Instagram Tools for Professional Marketers

With over 500 million monthly active users, Instagram is one of the most powerful social media platforms today. Thanks to its popularity, you can find many available tools to improve your marketing strategy on the highly rated social platform.

Here is a list of my favorite Instagram tools to help you assess your current approach, analyze your audience and create engaging posts. If you make sure to use them properly, achieving optimal results will be nice and easy.

1. Hootsuite

This is a platform for social media management that makes scheduling and publishing posts a piece of cake. You can use its Instagram options for scheduling your posts in advance so you don’t have to worry about forgetting to publish them.

Once you have prepared your posts, you can move on to deal with other important tasks. Then, when the publishing time comes, Hootsuite will send you a notification. Instagram, like any other social media, is overflowing with posts and ads so, it’s important to post content on a regular basis. This tool will help you keep up with the hustle.

2. Social Insight

This is a tool that runs a thorough analysis of your account. You can follow your account growth, interactions and engagement. The main features allow you to estimate the best time for posting content and gain data on followers (gained and lost ones). You can also see the information on the average engagement.

Furthermore, if you own more than one business account, Social Insight lets you connect them and compare their analytics. This is one of the most promising Instagram tools used by businesses owners.

3. SocialRank

SocialRank provides you with the insight into the follower demographics. It does that by managing, identifying and organizing your followers. Once the tool has gathered the followers’ profiles, you can filter and categorize them according to a variety of criteria. Afterwards, you can export the lists of followers and use them for further assessment.

This is a great tool for collecting data about your customers’ age, gender and location, but you can also identify other relevant factors to find out what the audience wants and adjust your strategies. Knowing your audience is a prerequisite for conducting a successful business. SocialRank can be an excellent tool for getting to know them.

4. Crowdfire

Crowdfire is used for managing your following. Use is to keep your following in order. The tool identifies people who don’t follow you, or who aren’t active, and gives you the option to unfollow them.

Crowdfire also enables you to quickly start following users who might be interested in your service or product. It generates the suggestions about who you can follow by relying on your following patters. In addition, you can use the tool for monitoring the effects of your updates on the users.

5. VSCO

Since Instagram is all about photos, make sure to incorporate VSCO in your marketing strategy. It’s a top-notch tool for taking and editing photos. This photo-editing platform will help you tackle the visual side of your marketing approach. You can use a variety of filters to customize your photos and appeal to the audience. You can take pictures of your products, or capture beautiful scenery that can be a great theme for your following campaign.

The statistics show that the average number of photos shared on Instagram on a daily basis is 80 million. In order for yours to get the audience’s attention, they need to be more than just pleasing to the eye. Find a theme that will be a constant in the photos that promote your products and use VSCO to make it perfect.

6. Boomerang

This is a great tool for creating videos that will appeal to the audience. Having a well-developed strategy entails engaging with your audience the best way you can. You need to speak their language. And according to Liquid Creativity, Boomerang videos have become a crucial part of the Instagram language.

You can use Boomerang for filming one-second long videos. And the best thing about it is that you won’t need much preparation since the videos don’t have audio. Therefore, you don’t have to work on dialogues. Capture a perfect moment behind the scenes, or make an interesting video about your product. Every second counts!

7. Foursixty

Instagram can be also used for purchasing. Foursixty enables you to sell your products on Instagram by linking them to their product page. In addition, your customers will have an opportunity to add items to their carts, instead of having to browse the Internet for the website.

Some companies that successfully use Foursixty for sales are ban.do or Pura Vida Bracelets. Follow their lead and post photos of satisfied customers using your products. That signals to other users that you’re reliable, and creates an incentive to get the product for themselves. Everyone needs a little push every once in a while. All you need to do is link your images to the product pages, which is exactly what Foursixty helps you do.

8. Instagram Business Blog

Instagram has recently announced the launch of their Business Blog. It will be used as a business resource to contribute to the success of other companies. You can visit the blog to get all the information necessary to make the most out of everything Instagram offers. Keep up with the news from the Instagram world and learn how to use the available tools effectively. Also, find out what other business accounts are up to.

Instagram marketing statistics shows that 48.8% of brands have an Instagram account, including 90% of the top 100 brands. That indicates that the competition on Instagram is fierce and you have to use every tool to get to the top. After all, who knows Instagram better than Instagram?

9. Repost

This is an essential tool for sharing user generated content. By doing so, you will show your customers that you appreciate them and their opinion. Repost is easy to use, all you need to do is click and share the content you like, while acknowledging the person who created it.

Repost features enable you to bookmark photos or videos you want to repost. You can also find photographs you like by typing in a hashtag or a user’s name and to repost by tapping a single button. This tool will contribute to strengthening the business relationship between your clients and you.

10. Facebook Power Editor

Instagram uses Facebook Power Editor for generating sponsored posts. By using this tool you can easily target factors, such as age, gender, location, habits, or interests of your users, which will help you create ads that will meet the needs of your customers. You don’t have to invest much into running ads, even $1 would suffice, but if you’re ready to invest more, your ads will, of course, have a larger reach and bigger exposure.

Conclusion
With the right tools and proper use, Instagram has the potential of becoming one of the most powerful business platforms. It offers a wide variety of different tools, and you shouldn’t hesitate to use them. Find the ones that meet your needs, and start improving your social media business strategy.

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Get Ready for the Future of SEO

Recently, I ran across a blog titled, “Why You Won’t Recognize SEO in Five Years,” and it grabbed my attention. As an Internet Marketing guru, I know that SEO is a big piece of the content marketing puzzle. It is always good to stay on top of changing techniques.

Let’s take a look at some statistics around SEO:

According to Impact Branding & Design: “81% of B2B purchase cycles start with web search and 90% of buyers say when they are ready to buy, ‘they’ll find you.’”

According to NewsCred: “57% of B2B marketers say SEO has the biggest impact on lead generation.”

According to NewsCred: “53% of marketers rank content creation as the single most effective SEO tactic.”

So, what do these statistics tell us? First, if you’re not paying attention to SEO as part of your inbound content marketing plan, then you may be missing out on potential customers. Secondly, if you aren’t using current SEO techniques and strategy, then you’re already behind in the game for lead generation. It will only be more difficult to catch up.

Based on “Why You Won’t Recognize SEO in Five Years,” SEO is going to change in big ways over the next five years. Below are three areas where SEO will have the biggest impact.

1. SEO for Mobile Apps 

We all know how popular smart phones are and that people are constantly on them, so why wouldn’t mobile search become a big part of your SEO inbound marketing plan? Here’s the catch though: 85% of the time people spend on their mobile is spent in just a handful of apps. Therefore, search engine optimization for apps and the content within them is going to take on a new role within the inbound content marketing plan.

2. SEO for Social Search

We know that a lot of people rely on social media platforms when doing search on products and companies, so being present on these sites is important for your brand. They drive traffic to your site and create new leads. However, if you’ve noticed many times you never even leave Facebook when you click on a link that someone shared. Now, Twitter and Snapchat have also released features to keep viewers on their sites and apps rather than redirecting them to your website. What does this mean? Content may become more decentralized away from your website, so we will have to adapt to the new ways of optimizing our content for social.

3. SEO for Voice Search & Personal Assistants

The use of voice-activated personal assistants has been increasing over time. There are so many different ways to use these voice-activated personal assistants (computer, phone, tablet, watch, etc.). Most of us have some kind of voice-activated assistant at our fingertips. My niece attends a magnet school where they all get iPads and do a lot of work on the tablet. She uses the voice-activated assistant to search for things online regularly for school. So, why wouldn’t SEO start to take shape around voice-activated searches when a whole generation of future customers are getting acclimated to using them for search?

The newer generations are changing the way SEO will be done in the next five years. Most devices are connected to the Internet and each other. This also plays a part in the whole SEO process because search history and the way we search on each device may be taken into consideration in the overall search engine algorithm. If you’re not SEO conscience with your inbound content marketing plan, then it’s time to take another look and start preparing for what the future holds for your lead generation.

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